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Thursday, March 31, 2011

It was cold this morning--good for sleeping, but then I saw the clock and it was 15 minutes past time to get up.! Two things flashed in my brain: (1) I'm hungry--time for breakfast! and (2) Then it's my walk time! I know for sure that if they sleep on, my walk will get cut short and I do not like that! So, I nuzzled Gerard and he woke Karen up and all was well. Gerard thanked me but I was just doing my job so I got my normal walk in!

Manny normally starts meowing which wakes them up, but I guess he wasn't as hungry this morning as usual so I had to step up to the plate! We all work together pretty well around here. Still, Gerard says we should get an alarm clock but I think us pets do a good job of waking them up in the morning. Woof! Woof!

What do you know for sure? Please leave a comment as this is the last day for comments to count for 50 cents each to be donated to Canine Lifeline--My Favorite Charity that saved my life! I owe them big time! Woo Hoo!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

In Saturday's PLAIN DEALER, I read Man, 86, Charged With Shooting Wife. This made me feel so sad! They were married for 66 years but argued that day. The wife, age 83, told him she no longer loved him so he shot her in the face when she was lying in bed. (No wonder she didn't love him anymore if that's how he treated her!) Then he called 911 for an ambulance and said he was going to kill himself too. The cops arrested him and the wife died about 15 hours later at the hospital.

I think this is horrible! How can someone be married for 66 years and then just shoot their spouse? I think having a gun in the house just makes it so easy to kill in the heat of an argument. If they didn't have a gun in their house, this would not have happened. Guns make me so nervous. Even when it's a security guard or policeman that is wearing it. Just on the bus Friday, there was a security guard with a gun that I noticed when he was getting off the bus. I am glad neither Gerard nor I have a gun and we never will! At least I know my husband won't shoot me!

When I was a teen, we even moved when my mom saw our neighbor cleaning his rifle in his driveway. You can read all about it at my Writer's Workshop post for this week over at "My Funny Dad, Harry" blog: A Memorable Neighbor Who Scared Us Away.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

NFL Lockout

First there's the NFL lockout because players and owners are greedy and can't seem to come to terms as to how to divide up the money between them. I think it is absolutely preposterous the the NFL can dictate who coaches, managers and players can and cannot talk to.

NFL Rule Change

The NFL rule change for kickoffs is bad for the Browns. Our special teams with Josh Cribbs our outstanding kickoff returner is one bright spot of the Browns, but now the NFL voted to move the starting point for kickoffs up 5 yards to make it easier for the kick to be a touchback. The reason given was to prevent some injuries but I think that is lame. A 5-yard difference is going to prevent injuries? I don’t get this reasoning. I think many clubs are afraid of some kick returners going all the way for a touchdown like Cribbs has done quite often. Teams are just afraid of kicking to Cribbs so voted to make it easier to kick it to the end zone and start it at the 20. Only six teams voted against this rule change. I don’t know, but I bet those who did have good returners on their special teams unit. Just a hunch.

Monday, March 28, 2011

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month.
REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.

.... YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list It will only take a minute of your time.. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

I was raised going to church every Sunday and accepted Jesus as my personal Savior when seven. I would hear Catholics talking about Lent and signs about it on some Lutheran churches too but our church never said anything about it and I wondered why. My understanding is that it is a tradition that is done in preparation for Easter that involves giving something up as a sacrifice. My mom told me that the bad habits some people give up for Lent, we give up all the time such as smoking and drinking.

I don’t see where in the scripture this is commanded or even requested. On the other hand, I do see that according to Romans 12:1-2, we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service and be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. This, I believe, is the sacrifice God wants all the time—not just during Lent.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Firefox version 4

I upgraded to Firefox 4 this week and learned that it is not compatible with my Delicious and Norton toolbars. Oh well, it is faster! The tabs are at the top now though so that is taking some getting used to. Today though, my blog isn't loading all the way. It stops at the end of recommended blogs before the Bloggers Over 40 badge and doesn't show the "show all" in the list of blogs. What's up with that? UPDATE: Apparently, not fully loading my blog is not a Firefox problem--I tried it using IE and it does the same thing! UGH! My other ones are not fully loading either! (At first it wasn't compatible with Entrecard toolbar, but today when I went on after work, my Entrecard toolbar was back!)

NFL

The NFL has changed moved up the kickoff to the 35 yard line instead of the 30. This does not make us happy—it will be easier now for teams to kick it into the end zone and avoid long kick returns which is a big part of the Browns game.

119 Years Old!

When I went on my email this week I saw on Yahoo news that Rebecca Lanier is the oldest person in the United States at age 119 and is still walking around, thinks clearly and dresses herself. She shared her secret to a long life: “Just keep living.”

Thursday, March 24, 2011

1) My "clutter" drives him crazy! It's really not THAT bad as you can see from these pictures. He likes tables and dressers cleared off but I like things handy so leave stuff out, books, knickknacks, pictures. He usually has a book rack and at least the Peanuts calendar on his desk but this morning when I went to take a picture of it, he had it all cleared. (He's always moving his stuff around.)

2) If I have things a bit crooked, it makes him crazy. Gerard is a neat freak and thought it was funny how he always straightens the remote controls if I put them down slightly crooked.

Karen's desk

3) When I get up early on the weekend it makes Gerard crazy. Gerard gets up at 4:30 a.m. M-F to walk Abby before work so he likes to sleep in on the weekend; however, I still get up at 5 a.m. or earlier on the weekends too. I have to take my pills at 5 a.m. every day and then as long as I'm up, will usually go on the computer. Once Abby (our dog) goes back in the bedroom after breakfast, I do shut the door for him. This makes him crazy!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I got to go exploring. Karen walked me and Gerard came along but she took me a new way. It was an hour walk too! Woo Hoo! I love long walks like these when it isn’t hot!

We went in a big circle! Instead of going straight like Gerard takes me, Karen turned down a side street. It even had a big hill like at the park but was longer!
I feel a bit sad that Karen didn’t enjoy the walk as much as I did. She was a little cold and something got in her shoe that gave her a blister on the bottom of her foot by the time we got home. If it was summer, she could have taken her shoe off, but she didn’t want her foot getting cold so just toughed it out. It was a very good walk though, Karen. I love going new ways and seeing new things and getting lots of new sniffs! Woof, Woof!

When was the last time you went somewhere you’ve never been before? Do you like exploring too?

Monday, March 21, 2011

I am so happy that spring is here and love to hear the birds chirping on my way to the bus stop. I think that is the first sign that spring is really coming soon! I’m in such a good mood that I’ll even share my spring poem with you:

Spring

Spring is here,

It brings us cheer.

Spring is here.

Now, when I took this spring quiz, it said my Spring sense is sound. I guess this time it is right on!

You love the way the sounds change during the spring time. It's like the whole world is waking up. First the birds start chirping. Then the kids start playing. Before you know it, life is back in full swing again. You are observant, thoughtful, and even philosophical. You like taking the time to pay attention to things. You notice the little details that everyone else seems to overlook. And your memories tend to be extremely vivid.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The college basketball “March Madness” tournament has begun! I normally wouldn’t care, but when you fill out a bracket and enter a pool, it makes it a whole lot more interesting! Gerard and I both enjoy marking our winning picks and hoping to end up winning the pool.

The nice thing is that you really don’t have to follow basketball to play because there is plenty talk about the teams on TV, the Internet and in the newspaper Plus, their rank is listed right on the bracket—not that those mean a whole lot, anything can happen! That’s what makes it exciting and why they play the games.

Office Pools

My office pool costs $10 to enter which gives big winnings! There are 107 people this year who have entered, but I chose not to again and just enter Gerard’s pool which is made up of only 12 entries at $5. I figure my chances are much better to win in his than mine and it costs less. (I did win last year!)

Our Picks

This year I went with Ohio State, Duke, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh for my final four with (drum roll please, can you guess?) Ohio State for the champion.

Since we both entered the same pool, Gerard picked Ohio State, Duke, Louisville and Kansas State for his final four with Duke as champion. (Louisville lost in the first round!)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Japan

Besides the devastation of the tsunami in Japan, I learned from Sparkle that there is a Cat Island in Japan. I never heard of this place before. The cats survived the Tsunami! Sparkle's Paws For Japan post to raise money with comments for the organization that rescues animals in disasters raised $300.

Cat In The Hat

I just re-read this book last Sunday and learned it actually is about obedience and honesty. You can read my review of it at Grab A Book From Our Stack. This was one of the first books I owned but couldn't remember what it was about.

Popcorn

A big tub of popcorn that you get at a movie theater is as many calories as 2 1/2 Big Macs! I read that in the PLAIN DEALER last Friday. Gerard thought it was very interesting and told me to add it in this post. I always thought popcorn was one of the better snack foods!

Chinese Parenting

Here are some things I learned about the Chinese way of parenting when I read Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother:

Chinese generally consider an A- a bad grade.

To be the best, you must practice more than everyone else—even when traveling on vacation.

Chinese generally are disgraced with second place.

Chinese parents are generally blunt and do not consider the feelings of their kids.

Chinese parents generally believe they know best for their kids so do not let the kids make choices.

Chinese generally always do extra credit, even if not needed.

Chinese parents push their children to excel because they are confident they can with hard work.

NFL Lockout

We are upset about the NFL lockout. Our Browns have a new coaching staff, new plays to learn and some new players and really need to start training ASAP! How stupid that the coaches and players aren't permitted to even talk to each other all because of greed basically. Too sad that the players and owners can't agree on how to divide up $9 billion!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The bus ride home today was full of young parade attenders all dressed crazy and acting crazy. Some of the girls were wearing hot pants and mid-drifts today. What gets into people on St. Patrick's Day?

It was crowded and some teens sat on laps and a couple sat down on the floor and didn't even move when a guy wanted to get off!

Then someone was smoking in the back and a lady called up to the bus driver that someone was smoking on the bus and she thinks he should kick them off. That got some girls making fun of her calling her a tattle tail. I'm thinking what's this, are you a third grader?

Then, one girl called on a cell phone to cancel her debit card and gave out her social security number so half the bus could hear! Not smart.

Another girl was mopey and weepy and two of her friends kept nagging her to tell them what was wrong and she didn't want to. They used the f-bomb in every other sentence while yelling back and forth when they were sitting right next to each other. "I'm you best friend, tell me what's wrong." "No, I don't want to talk about it." The sad one tried to get up and move but the "best friend" wouldn't let her out of the seat. Even one of their other friends told them they were being ridiculous!

UPDATED 3/18/11:

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my post about the girl sitting next to me with the tall yellow hat on complaining that some guy kept pulling it off her head at the parade. (I'm thinking he probably wanted to see!) She was also saying that there was beer all over her kitchen floor. (Maybe she was a college student but she acted like a high schooler.)

This group of 7 or 8 were really bonkers!
I bet that bus driver was glad at the end of that trip! (I should have taken a picture but didn't think I'd be doing a post about it so didn't.)

Jesus loves me! I was just seven years old when I realized on an Easter Sunday in Sunday School how much God loved little unimportant me. Jesus left His home in heaven to come to earth in human form to bring me to God. Wow! He voluntarily suffered an agonizing death, even to the point of being crucified as a common criminal and humiliated before a multitude of people. He lived a holy, sinless life on earth in spite of Satan’s attempts to get him to—the only person to ever do this so that he could sacrifice himself as the Savior of the world! He did it so I can be forgiven and saved me from the punishment of sin—eternal separation from God in hell.

Watching the JESUS film clip in my 5th grade Sunday School class last week really brought this to life for my class and was a good reminder for me. Reading it is one thing, but seeing it makes it even more moving. I still get choked up when I think about how Jesus suffered, bled and died for me before I even knew Him. Even on the cross, he was concerned about those crucifying Him, praying “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” The good news is He didn’t stay dead though—he arose as He said, proving He really is God. It amazes me so much that God left heaven to die for sinful humans so we can be forgiven and live with him for all eternity in heaven. What a plan God has!

What is also amazing is how people can reject Jesus once they hear how much He loves them. If you have doubts about God or his plan of salvation, ask God to show you the truth.

If you are unfamiliar with this great love story, you can read all about it in the Bible, specifically Matthew 26-28; Mark 14-16; Luke 22-24; John 18-21. (Actually the entire Bible is God’s 66 love letters to us).

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?--I John 3:17

I have been feeling really bad since I heard the news about Japan and saw the devastation. This is just a short post that I hope will encourage others to help these people.

I cannot go about my routines and neglect to help them. Today, I finally made a donation online through Samaritan's Purse because it is an organization I am familiar with, have read about and know that it is legitimate. It is a Christian organization whose mission is to help people in need.

Yesterday at Reflections From A Christian Mommy Writer I found a wonderful prayer for Japan that I don't want to wait until Friday to share with you.

What will you do to help? " . . . the righteous give generously." Psalm 37:21 NIV

UPDATED 3/16/11:
Today you can help the animal rescue efforts in Japan by playing the Free Kibble Trivia game.

I found some good news about Japan over at Sparkle's blog the other day about Cat Island. Now this sounds like my kind of place for retirement!

Monday, March 14, 2011

I am the "Spunkster" and one of the things I like doing lately is jumping on top of stuff. In this video, you can see me high up on top of Karen's closet. I jumped up when she wasn't looking so she missed that part. After her and Manny begged me to come down for about 5 minutes, I did. (Karen cut out most of the part when they were begging me to come down.) I do like that they missed me! To make it a little more fun for you to watch, try to predict where I will jump and what I will do when I first come down.

1. Do you think I will jump onto the headboard, the bed, the chair, or the floor?
2. Do you think I will jump down and run away or jump down and go to Manny?

I don't think Manny ever jumped up here. He does do a big loud jump when he comes off the third floor of the cat tree though!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Firefox

When I went to www.Firefoxlive.mozilla.org I found out that "Firefox" is another name for red pandas! They are my favorite cutest animal ever and there is video of real red pandas on their site. Now I like my Firefox browser even more!

Squinkees

Do you know what a Squinkee is? I didn't until I read "Squinkees" over at "For Love Or Funny." They are little cute characters that are packaged inside balls that like to sit on top of pencils. Apparently they are a hit with 6th graders. I've never seen one personally.

Alzheimer's Facts

Here’s some things I learned this week about Alzheimer’s from reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova:

Alzheimer’s does not just happen to 80-yr-olds. Even some people in their 40s or 50s get it! (When I can’t think of a particular word or someone’s name, I joke that Alzheimer’s is setting in, but now I don’t think it’s so funny, but kind of scary.)

It is common for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s under the age of 65 to consider suicide.

Running can be helpful in slowing down the progression of the disease.

The person with Alzheimer’s knows when they are out of it and misses how they used to be.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

I think the only way we would move would be if our house got destroyed or if aliens came from space and picked us up and moved us somewhere else. We are very happy with our neighborhood and with our house. Although we would love to live in a climate that is warm year round without snow, the thought of moving is just too overwhelming. Moving is just a huge hassle, lots of stress and very tiring. I was never so exhausted in my life as I was when we moved into our house.

Perhaps one day if we become too feeble to live on our own, then we may move into some kind of assisted living place. That is the only way I see us moving. We are right where we belong!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

I am no expert when it comes to fitness or exercising, but I would like to share a few things I’ve learned from different trainers and some from FITNESS magazine since working out:

1. Only take short rests in between and get off the machine between sets to give your muscles a chance to re-energize.

2. When doing curls, standing is more effective than sitting because it also helps tone your core. To help keep from rocking, use a lighter weight or try standing with your back against a wall while curling the weight.

4. Make sure to work all body parts: legs, arms, glutes, shoulders, back, chest, and core but not the same part two days in a row. Rest between workouts is important to give your muscles time to recover.

5. My weakness is neglecting the cardio—you should include that too! Warm up your muscles for 5-10 minutes with cardio and either do more a separate day or after the strength training.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue is a no-kill cat sanctuary that takes in old, sick, feral stray cats and cares for them for life. This sanctuary cares for the cats the Humane Society and shelters would not take. It costs $15,000 a month to keep it going. You can visit their website at www.carolines-kids.org to print out raffle tickets and mail them in with your donation to enter their raffle for a $1,000 Gasoline Gift Card. The drawing will be held April 8.

Here is a video that gives a lot of information about the sanctuary and shows the caring volunteers--I especially liked watching their Thanksgiving!

Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue is a charity that we support regularly and have had the pleasure of actually visiting it since it is only about 45 minutes away from our home. During our visit, they allowed me to take this video to post about it on our blog.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Manny has been beating me to sleeping on the bed with our humans for the last few weeks but last night I finally got there first and snuggled in next to Karen near the edge. On and off throughout the night she would pet me which I like. I did a lot of purring and had a good night’s rest. Then this morning about 4:30, all of a sudden the big woofie (Abby) came up at me! I scurried off quick and Karen told her not to come up unless she tells her to and jumped out of bed looking for me to make sure I was okay and didn’t get squished by the big paws. I am okay, but don’t think I’ll be back on the bed for awhile. That was scary! What has scared you lately?

Exercise Poll

We had 38 respond and discovered that 36% (the highest percentage for an answer) don't exercise, but 34% (a close second) do walk their dog. Only 9 (23%) of the 38 actually workout at a gym. I'm thankful I can workout again and It Feels Great To See Progress.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Thanks to all who participated on our little exercise poll. It appears that those with dogs get exercise walking but most prefer to blog or read rather than exercise. Only 9 out of 38 actually said they worked out at a gym. After being unable to workout for about a year and a half, I am happy to be back in the gym again working out three times a week since the beginning of this year. I thought I’d share with you some things that inspired me to keep working out besides the fact that I know it’s good for my health.

Seeing progress is the best motivator! Acknowledge the small changes and persevere!

Each time I workout, I try to do a little more than I did before. This is why it is important to write down what you do (the exercise or machine you use, the weight, number of reps).

I was thrilled when I did walking lunges and found they were so much easier than when I did them before. Same thing with taking two steps at a time. The other day I could take two at a time with no problem, unlike the first time I tried this.

I also saw great improvement the last time I did my Bosu ball total body workout Saturday. I used to only do one segment with some difficulty but now I am able to do all three segments without any difficulty! For me, this is the biggest motivator. I really felt good after that and look forward to trying the other segments.

It’s also a good idea to take some measurements just for comparison. I was happy to see I lost two inches around my waist from a previous measurement from a year ago! Battling a flabby stomach is a constant battle for me, but now I’m beginning to see my abs again.

It’s also fun to see my strength actually increase when I use heavier weights than previously or do more reps than I did last time. It’s very important to change things up, not just to keep from getting bored but also to keep your muscles guessing so they don’t get used to the same routine.

I really like the FITNESS magazine because it gives lots of tips and examples of different workouts to try, some of which are very challenging. I find the TV show, "The Biggest Loser" very inspiring too! It really makes me want to exercise.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Last year we spent around $550 on pizza. We help support an independent owner called Casamels. We have a line for fast food in our budget and a little over half of our "fast food" is pizza. Generally, out of a medium sized pizza cut into 8 slices, I eat six of them and Gerard eats two. We met at a Pizza Hut for our first date. He scored points with me right off the bat when he suggested that place!

According to last Wednesday's Cleveland PLAIN DEALER article, Piece Of The Pie: Who Dominates The Pizza Business, independent pizza owners combined had 52% of the market share in 2009 based on NPD research group for 2009. $36,286,230,000 was spent on pizza in 2009 in just the U.S. Want to take a guess at which pizza chain had the biggest market share? It was Pizza Hut with 14% followed by Dominoes with 8%.

Do you know what you spent on pizza last year? Who do you buy it from?

For March we will again donate 50 cents per comment on all of our blogs but to Canine Lifeline--the organization that rescues dogs from shelters that are scheduled to be put down. They use foster homes to take in the dogs to give them longer to find them good homes. They have saved over 300 dogs throughout Ohio and Kentucky since it started in 2009. This is how we got Abby! She was scheduled to be put down because she was in an overcrowded shelter. She is a wonderful dog and it would have been so sad had Barb, one of the founders of Canine Lifeline, had not rescued her to give her extra time for us to find her. Visit their website at www.caninelifeline.org to donate, see what other dogs are available or provide a foster home.

We hope you will comment on all our blogs to help out this charity that is so wonderful!

Find more Saturday Sampling at Half-Past Kissin' Time or link up your best post of the week!